The Madikwe Hills Weblog

Diversity

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:24:13 +0200

Last two weeks in madikwe and all its diversity!Madikwe is host to the big five which we see on a regular basis but there ifs more to this place than that.

We have a huge variety of species and that's what keeps me drawn to this awesome place those of you that been here will known what I am talking about for those that haven't please pay us a visit!I hope you enjoy the photo's its just a small taste of what was seen in the last two weeks.

Black Rhino and Leopards

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 15:25:40 +0200

We have had alot more Leopard sightings off late and the very rare Black Rhino has also came out to say hallo.We had two Big Toms(Big Male Leopards) on two occations in the same area. Three days apart. They both have made Impala kills. The first one we only got to when he had already finished the kill and the second didnt want to share his feast with us. The second big male tried to take the Impala out of the tree when we arrived. The Impala got stuck in a fork of the tree and the leopard eventually tore the Impala in half to get it out. They are emensly powerfull animals.

We also saw this male Black Rhino two days in a row. They are normally very nervy and normally run off. This one got interested in us and wanted a closer look, giving me a chance to take some fotos. What a good boy.

Hope you enjoy seeing these rare animals. Come visit us soon!

Young White Rhino Antics!!!

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 07:43:44 +0200

He got us going there for a moment...This little guy showed us the bright side of a rhino. Young rhino's can be very playful animals and this little guy was just looking for someone to play with. Then we showed up...Enjoy!!!

The Super Pride

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 20:20:49 +0200

You might know what it looks like...but do you!!!From the second I started filming these guys one thing came up in my mind. If we did not have the safety of the car and the respect from the animals for this car...what would you do in this situation.

Here you have 17 hungry mouths to feed and in this picture the most greedy 5 are missing doing things by them selves. One gave birth to 2 possibly more cubs and the real meat eaters are away on patrol (the pride males).

Regardless, this team is formidable and relentless. Have a good look at the Madikwe Super Pride. Now... including the cubs they are 25 strong (according to informants). Imagine that marching down your drive way. I am glad I do not have to sort that out. But some one needs to soon!!!

Wild Dog Fight

Mon, 7 Jun 2010 16:04:45 +0200

Wild Dogs attacking a sub adult hyena and beating him up!!!We found the wild dogs the other day and started following them. They came across a young Spotted hyena and when they saw him they took their chance. The quickly ran him down and wen't on to give him the beating of a life time. The hyena survived the attack but I can tell you he will never again cause trouble with any wild dog ever again!!!

The Prince of Darkness!!!

Sun, 30 May 2010 19:21:13 +0200

Leopard from heaven!!!I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend as I did. For last week up to the weekend we had one of the most unbelievable leopard sighting this reserve has seen in a very long time.He was found near Vleisfontein after he had killed a sub adult wildebeest under the power line.

He was seen dragging his kill up a Marula tree with the most stunning display of power that anyone has ever witnessed. The wildebeest was bigger than him and almost surely more than double his weight. You could hear the claws digging into the tree as he powered his way up with muscles as tight as tensile steel. Watching this incredible display of power made you feel humble and as fragile as a crystal glass. This animal is raw power and something, I think, we could never really comprehend as humans. Supreme in his confidence he treated us like we were not there and continued in his merry way. He stayed in the area until the carcass was finished, which took nearly 5 days. He is the new Prince of this reserve and most definitely the object of everyone's affection.

I do not know where he comes from, but my suspicion is that he comes from Botswana. If he stays here in the area we decided to name him Bonolo, which means the relaxed and confident one. This describes him in totality. What an amazing animal and we love him already.

Enjoy his pics!!!!!

Madikwe Update

Fri, 7 May 2010 14:33:48 +0200

The past few weeks!!Life in the bush is so much more fun when you take time to stop and look at the smaller things...

Fri, 7 May 2010 14:20:00 +0200

Just to keep you updated with whats been happening the paast week!Life in the bush is so much more fun when you take time to stop and look at the smaler things in life...

Rain..Rain..Rain...!!!

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 17:25:25 +0200

Raining now for 4 days non stop!!!We really enjoyed a wonderful spell of good weather last week. The temperatures were mild, the sun was shining and sightings where impeccable. But last Friday it came...Black clouds on the horizon late in the afternoon was our sign of things to come. It started raining that night with a huge thunder storm and it hasn't stopped until now. Everything and everybody is drenched and if not wet you are covered in mud. The last few days here the rangers could give any Rhino, Elephant, or Buffalo a run for its money in wallowing. It has been a long time since I have seen so much mud. We are not complaining at all, we are grateful for the rain. But the mud, we don't like it......we LOVE it. We didn't get much pictures of the chaos because most of us were fearful of damaging some really expensive equipment so I leave it to your imagination. Just imagine letting some 10 year olds loose in the rain and mud with no constrain, then I think you would get a pretty good idea. I leave you with some images of our friends of the bush...

Swimming Hyenas

Sat, 24 Apr 2010 13:15:45 +0200

Finding food underwater...Upon arrival at Tlou dam we saw six spotted hyena standing on the dam wall,they looked quite nervous staring intently at the water's edge!I noticed rippling in the water, took out the binoculars as we were still some distance from the dam and saw one hyena neck deep in the water tugging on a wildebeest carcass.As we got closer the rest of the clan went in they eventually pulled the carcass out where a black-backed jackal was waiting for some scraps!Not sure why the wildebeest was in the water it probably drowned but again it shows the amazing ability of how powerful hyena's sense of smell is when it comes to locating food!